The Fourth of July proved to be a less-than-impressive day in the Cleveland organization, but Arthur Kinney still found some performances of note. One of them belonged to Joe Sever, who looks to be getting back on track after some recent struggles. Join Arthur as he recaps all of the Independence Day action and takes you Around the Farm.

Happy Fourth of July from the Mahoning Valley Scrappers who played Batavia Muckdogs on the day of our independence. The fans swarmed in with the largest crowd of the season to enjoy not only a day of America’s favorite pastime but also celebrating the Fourth of July with a fireworks display following the game. Though the display was marvelous the Scrappers fell short to the Muckdogs.

In this week’s Minor Happenings, the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at the recent surge in performance at Triple-A for right-handed pitcher Danny Salazar, how his stuff has looked and if he is getting back into the form that impacted the Indians roster late last season. He takes a deep look into the breakout performance at Double-A Akron for outfielder Anthony Gallas, what it means and what has changed for him. He also provides some insight into the turnaround for Low-A Lake County righty Mitch Brown, looks at the biggest change to Triple-A catcher Roberto Perez’s approach and more.

The name of the game is patience. No wait, that was last night's theme. Anyway, Kieran Lovegrove rewarded anyone who has been patient with him Thursday night, tossing five no-hit innings and showing flashes of why he was a highly regarded third round pick in 2012. He was joined by Claudio Bautista, who will also need some patience in the future as he learns to be more selective at the plate. Join Jim Piascik as takes you Around the Farm, breaking down Lovegrove and Bautista's nights in addition to recapping all the action throughout the organization.

It took until the third week of the season, but the Mahoning Valley Scrappers picked up their first series win and first back to back wins of the season on Thursday night in Auburn with a 4-2 win. Kieran Lovegrove (1-0), making his 4th start of the season, set the tone for the Scrappers. Lovegrove breezed through 5 hitless innings in his best start of the year. He did not allow a run and walked 2 while striking out 5.

It is really hard to be patient for any stretch of time. Like waiting for Christmas as a child -- or even now for Jim Piascik, the wait for the final Hobbit movie -- is unbearable (same for the waits leading up to the first two, for that matter). But it is absolutely vital to be patient to a fault with prospects, especially ones with the talent of Mitch Brown and Carlos Moncrief. Join Jim as he breaks down Brown's turnaround, the recent resurgence of Moncrief, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

Juan Santana and Justin Garcia combined to toss seven innings of two-hit, no-run baseball to lead the Mahoning Valley Scrappers to a 2-1 win against the Auburn Doubledays. Garcia earned the win while Edward Estrella came in for the two-inning save. Steven Patterson sparked the Scrappers' offense with a home run in the first before Bradley Zimmer added the winning run in the same inning.

In this week’s edition of “Coach’s Corner” the IBI's Tony Lastoria had a chance to sit down with short season Single-A Mahoning Valley pitching coach Greg Hibbard for a few moments and talk about some of his pitchers. They talked about the focus for talented righty Kieran Lovegrove, the advanced maturity of lefty Sean Brady, the promise of lefty reliever Anderson Polanco, the change in repertoire for righty Juan Santana, and lots more.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers totaled 10 hits, but gave up that same number of base knocks as they lost to the Auburn Doubledays, 5-2. The Scrappers were led on offense by Bradley Zimmer, who finished 3 for 4 with one double and one run scored. Starting pitcher Sean Brady tossed five innings and gave up two runs while Jose Zapata took the loss in relief.

The fans of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers were certainly entertained today. After a four loss streak the streak was finally over. Playing the Jamestown Jammers that Scrappers took an eighth inning game win that was interrupted by the rain. After eight innings the Scrappers defeated the Jammers 8-3.

The rowdy crowd came to watch the Mahoning Valley Scrappers play Jamestown Jammers and the fireworks show that was to follow. But even with the crowd cheering until the end the Scrappers could not produce the hits needed to keep up the Jammers falling 4-2 on Friday.

It is easy to get caught up in recent events and become prisoners of the moment. Really, it just seems like human nature to overvalue the most recent thing to happen. Each year, it happens to a certain number of players: those with hot Aprils seem to have figured something out and those with cold ones seem to have taken a step back. By and large, however, these early season performances go back to normal, which is exactly what is happening with Ronny Rodriguez. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down Rodriguez's season, Bobby Bradley's debut to date, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers scored in the bottom of the 10th inning, but still lost to the Jamestown Jammers, 6-4, after the visitors piled on three runs in the top half. Shane Rowland went 2 for 4 while Greg Allen scored a pair of runs. Kieran Lovegrove got the no decision after 4.1 innings of two-run ball while James Stokes took the loss.

One bounce of the ball can be all it takes to change everything. Top prospect Francisco Lindor experienced this firsthand Wednesday as a routine double play grounder took a bad hop, bouncing up and hitting him in the face. Lindor seems to have avoided being struck in the eye, a potentially positive development, though he is still getting checked out. Join Jim Piascik as takes you Around the Farm, reporting from Canal Park and bringing you the rest of the action on a busy night in the system.

In two seven-inning games on Wednesday, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers went 1-1 with a 5-0 shutout victory in the opener. The Scrappers scored five runs in their first two innings of the day, but only scored one more run throughout the ensuing 12 innings of play. Batavia took home the second game after piling on four unanswered runs to win, 4-1.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning, but allowed the Auburn Doubledays to battle back and force extra innings. Auburn went on to score in the 10th to take the win after the Scrappers totaled nine hits and three errors in the game. Mahoning Valley starter Cameron Hill pitched a strong game, going four innings with two hits and no runs or walks.

The offense has been very quiet in the early stages of the 2014 season for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. After the first 4 innings on Sunday afternoon it appeared it would stay that way. But the Scrappers offense then exploded for 14 runs over the next 6 innings en route to a 15-5 win over the Auburn Doubledays.

When it comes to prospects, sometimes the divide between one who makes it and one who does not just comes down to health. Roberto Perez and LeVon Washington are both examples of this, as they are both in the midst of big years after injury-riddled 2013 seasons. Now that both are healthy, Perez and Washington are raking, as they did Saturday. Join Arthur Kinney as he writes about Perez and his future, Washington and his potential rise, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

For the second night in a row, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers grabbed an early lead in the top of the first inning. For the second night in a row, they were unable to capitalize on it as the Batavia Muckdogs had an answer every time the Scrappers crossed the plate, leading to a 10-6 setback for the Scrappers.

Friday night’s game in Batavia, NY started out looking like it would be an easy walk in the park for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers as they loaded the bases and grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning. From there, the bats went quite with runners in scoring position as the Scrappers left 15 runners on base in a 7-4 loss to the Batavia Muckdogs.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!